I am writing this for my daughter, P, and son-in-law, A, since I witnessed much of her care, along with the two of them. P was a patient here for 3 days when she had her baby. They were transferred from L&D that same night. On the following night shift, Lydia was their nurse. These two are young and scared new parents. Lydia was so very helpful, kind, compassionate, knowledgeable, comforting, and a great teacher. A and P have been through a lot of tragedy and were understandably scared of what could possibly go wrong with P and/or the baby.
I like to give kudos where they are due and they are definitely due to Lydia.
Lydia came on for her shift, walked into the room, put hand sanitizer on her hands first, introduced herself, and said she would be P's nurse that night. She had a smile on her face each and every time she entered the room. She performed the most complete head-to-toe assessment I have seen anyone perform in a very long time. She explained to P what she was doing, and why she was doing it. It didn't matter how many times she was called, she never seemed to be frustrated or upset that she was being called on. Being a new mom and dad, of course, they had lots of questions and concerns. She listened to every question they had and never failed to answer them. What I found so comforting was that not only did she give them the answer, she gave them the reason. She used every opportunity to educate them while she was there. It was so very obvious that Lydia loves what she does!!
Once, I can remember we were totally exhausted. The baby was a little fussy and the little mama was just tuckered. P had fallen asleep with the baby on the bed with her. I tried my best to stay awake but sadly failed. Lydia came in for one of her checks, saw the baby in the bed with mama, and educated her on the safety of not falling asleep with the baby in the bed. She got the baby, swaddled her good, consoled her, got her quiet, and placed her in her bassinet. She did not leave until the baby was settled and so was mama.
She checked on them often, even in between their calls. She never talked down to them or made them feel dumb for asking a question.
It was so refreshing watching Lydia as she took care of my child and grandchild, and the daddy too. Her expertise and obvious love for what she does clearly showed in that 12-hour shift. What I witnessed that night was a breath of fresh air, knowing there are still nurses out there who love their job and are doing it for the right reason. P and A saw the sign about The DAISY Award on the wall and said she needs that because she definitely made our night so much better!